Jean C. Chou

April 24, 1925 – April 21, 2023

Jean Ching Ho Chou died April 21, 2023 with her family by her side in New York, New York.

Jean was born in Beijing China in April 24, 1925. She grew up in Beijing with her mother Ping Jung Liang and her older sister Jing Lian Liang. After graduating from the Catholic University in Peking, she came to the United States in 1948 to pursue graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, where she received a Masters degree in 1950. While at the University of Minnesota, she met and married Pao Yao, a fellow graduate student originally from Yunnan, China, in 1950.

Jean and Pao Yao decided to stay in the United States after the 1949 Communist Revolution in China and came to New York in the mid-1950s, living in Briarwood, Queens before moving to Teaneck, NJ in 1964. Jean continued to live in Teaneck until 2012, when she moved to the Upper East Side of Manhattan to be closer to her daughter Kathy.

Jean was predeceased by her husband, Pao Yao, her mother, Ping Jung Liang and her older sister, Jing Lian Liang.

Jean was a devoted mother and homemaker to her husband and three children before pursuing a career as a statistician for the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. She was a devout Christian, whose faith in Jesus Christ guided the prayerful way that she lived her life. She was a longtime member of the Chinese Christian Fellowship in New York and diligently served on CCF leadership committees during the latter part of her life. Jean was a talented amateur artist, having taken art lessons as a girl in China from Qi Gong, a calligrapher and painter whose work now is included in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition to art, Jean loved reading the Bible and listening to classical music (with WQXR-FM in New York being her constant musical companion during all her waking hours in the later years of her life). Jean also loved seeing and spending time with her three grandchildren.

Jean is survived by her son John, daughter-in-law Teresa Wallace and their daughter Carolyn; her son Timothy and his daughter Stacey, son-in-law Shawn Halim, and son John; her daughter Katherine Jean; and her niece Joy Hui Hsiung.

A visitation for Jean will be held Tuesday, April 25, 2023 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Chas. Peter Nagel Funeral Directors, 352 East 87th Street, New York, NY 10128.

A funeral service for Jean will be held Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 11:00 AM at Chas. Peter Nagel Funeral Directors, 352 East 87th Street, New York, NY 10128.

There will be a private burial for family and close relations later in the week.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider making a donation to: Far East Broadcasting Company (febc.org); WQXR classical public radio (wqxr.org); or UNICEF (unicefusa.org).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ChasPeterNagel.com for the Chou family.